Abstract: An artery blockage removal system including a hollow plastic tube with IR optical fibers extending longitudinally between its inner and outer walls, the end of the tube having a metal clad tip ring preferably of gold abutting against the end of the IR optical fibers, and the outer surface of the hollow plastic tube having curved arterial guards molded into its outer circumference to hold the inner walls of the artery away from the hollow plastic tube and metal clad tip ring to avoid physical and thermal damage to the inner artery walls, whereby arterial blockage is removed through application of the metal clad tip ring heated by the IR optical fibers and a vacuum applied through the center of the hollow tubing.

Abstract: A system and method for synthesizing nanopowder which provides for precursor material ablation from two opposing electrodes that are substantially axially aligned and spaced apart within a gaseous atmosphere, where a plasma is created by a high power pulsed electrical discharge between the electrodes, such pulse being of short duration to inertially confine the plasma, thereby creating a high temperature and high density plasma having high quench and/or reaction rates with the gaseous atmosphere for improved nanopowder synthesis.

Abstract: A method of producing nanocrystalline ceramic powder by creating a plasma stream in a reactor vessel, and physically converting a ceramic precursor material into ceramic particles suspended in the vessel, using the plasma stream. A metallic reactant may additionally be introduced into the vessel using the plasma stream, wherein the metallic reactant forms ceramic particles having the same composition as the ceramic particles of the physical converting step. The plasma stream is created using an electrothermal gun. The gun may use a ceramic barrel which is eroded by the plasma stream. Alternatively (or additionally), the ceramic precursor material may be injected as particulates into the plasma stream, wherein the ceramic precursor particulates are micron-sized or larger. A novel electrothermal gun design may optionally use a replaceable insert constructed of the ceramic precursor material.

Abstract: A process for synthesizing nanosized powders utilizes a hybrid exploding wire device containing a solid metal wire fuse in the bore of a tube that is open at each end. The ends of the fuse are connected to electrodes on the ends of the tube. The electrodes are designed to erode to maintain a heavy metal plasma. The bore may comprise a corresponding ceramic to be produced, and a microcrystalline powder of a corresponding ceramic may be retained within the bore. An electrical discharge vaporizes and ionizes the fuse. The tube confines the radial expansion of the plasma such that the plasma exits from both ends of the tube where it reacts with a suitable gas to form nanoscale particles. In addition, the plasma gas ablates and vaporizes a portion of the bore wall to contribute to the nanoceramic synthesis. Other alternatives include replacing the fuse with a thin conductive sheath or a consumable metal insert.

Abstract: A process for synthesizing nanosized powders utilizes a hybrid exploding wire device containing a solid metal wire fuse in the bore of a tube that is open at each end. The ends of the fuse are connected to electrodes on the ends of the tube. The electrodes are designed to erode to maintain a heavy metal plasma. The bore may comprise a corresponding ceramic to be produced, and a microcrystalline powder of a corresponding ceramic may be retained within the bore. An electrical discharge vaporizes and ionizes the fuse. The tube confines the radial expansion of the plasma such that the plasma exits from both ends of the tube where it reacts with a suitable gas to form nanoscale particles. In addition, the plasma gas ablates and vaporizes a portion of the bore wall to contribute to the nanoceramic synthesis. Other alternatives include replacing the fuse with a thin conductive sheath or a consumable metal insert.

Abstract: An automated real time crew optimization engine for repairing crew problems including open flights, open pairings, and broken crews in airline operations, which generates multiple solutions in conformance with solution constraints by preprocessing the crew problems to generate potential solutions, and optimizing the potential solutions to provide optimized solutions. The preprocessing includes the use of self-connection methods, skipping-leg methods, and an extend-out-broken crew method. Potential solutions are generated by swap methods including a one-way swap method, a two-way swap method, and a three-way swap method. A depth-search-first algorithm and a shortest path algorithm are applied to the potential solutions to find optimal solutions.

Abstract: A method and system for conducting local neighborhood searches among three or more aircraft routes to cure any irregularity in one of the aircraft routes, in which states of Binary Operations are stored, time and space feasibility tables are created from the stored states, and Tertiary Operations responsive to data stored in the feasibility tables are performed on the three or more entities to effect a repair.

Abstract: A wireless communication system for receiving and transmitting serial bus data packets in conformance with a CSMA/CA protocol implemented in an ACCESS.bus serial bus data protocol which may accommodate either RF or IR transmissions for peer-to-peer communications between computers and between peripherals, as well as computer-to-peripheral and peripheral-to-computer communications.

Abstract: An automated, real-time decision support system for reassigning, rescheduling, and rerouting aircraft in response to flight operation disruptions, in which sets of optimal solutions are provided through use of evaluation statistics to assist operations management in selecting the optimal solution best conforming to operational constraints and user requirements. Solutions are generated through the execution of unary operations, binary operations, three-way operations, and reverse binary operations on grounded aircraft routes, available aircraft routes, and phantom routes which implicitly cancelled flights. Solutions are evaluated for feasibility with respect to operations constraints and user requirements. Marginal value calculators are used to differentiate feasible solutions and identify optimal solutions. The marginal value calculators are dynamic, hierarchical calculators that permit use of multiple, prioritized, and weighted route and operation attributes in comparing solution values.

Abstract: A method and system for conducting local neighborhood searches among three or more aircraft routes to cure any irregularity in one of the aircraft routes, in which states of Binary Operations are stored, time and space feasibility tables are created from the stored states, and Tertiary Operations responsive to data stored in the feasibility tables are performed on the three or more entities to effect a repair.

Abstract: A method for accurately determining travel time separation between dual vertically spaced hydrophones below a water surface to achieve separation of pressure wavefields into an up-going and a down-going wavefield in the frequency domain, and for accurately determining the depth of a vertical mid-point between the dual hydrophones below the water surface.

Abstract: An FM/FSK Transceiver for a wireless communications interface is disclosed which employs an offset phase lock loop which is accelerated into phase lock by a sweep signal to avoid data degradation, and which includes a feed forward compensation to accommodate a broadband response from DC to above 10 MHz in the exchange of information between computers, computers and peripheral equipments, and between peripheral equipments.

Abstract: A bilateral system for authenticating remote transceiving stations through use of station identifiers (IDs), and through use of passwords which are used only one time, and thereafter exchanging messages through use of an encryption key which is changed after each system connection. Upon authentication, each of the stations independently creates a secret session encryption key in response to the other station's unique station identifier that is exchanged over a communication link in cleartext. The station identifiers are used as tags to look up a unique static secret and a unique dynamic secret which are known only by the two stations, but which are not exchanged over the communication link. The secrets are independently combined by a bit-shuffle algorithm, the result of which is applied to a secure hash function to produce a message digest.

Abstract: A file security system is disclosed in which both a deterministic, non-predictable, pseudo-random, symmetric encryption key and an encrypted information file are highly resistant to cryptographic analysis or brute force trial-and-error attacks. The encryption key is formed by first combining a constant value and a secret E-Key Seed in accordance with a logic, algebraic, and/or encryption function to shuffle bits and perform a first many-to-few bit mapping to provide a first pseudo-random result, and by operating upon the result with a secure one-way hash algorithm to perform a second many-to-few bit mapping and thereby provide a pseudo-random message digest. The message digest may be truncated to provide a deterministic encryption key. The information file to be protected is then encrypted with the encryption key, and thereafter the encryption key is destroyed by the file manager of the host system.

Abstract: A method for determining water bottom reflectivities whereby pressure signals and velocity signals are combined to generate combined signals having signal components representing downwardly-travelling energy substantially removed. The pressure and velocity signals correspond to seismic waves generated at source locations n in a water layer and detected by co-located pressure and velocity receivers at receiver locations m in the water layer. The combined signals correspond to each pairing of source location n and receiver location m. The combined signals are transformed from the time domain to the frequency domain, generating transformed signals. A source peg-leg term and a receiver peg-leg term is calculated for each transformed signal, generating filtered signals. An optimization algorithm is applied to the filtered signals, using the corresponding source and receiver peg-leg terms to determine the water bottom reflectivity values R.sub.n and R.sub.

Abstract: An automated, portable, and time conservative memory test system for identifying test parameters including type, control line configuration, depth, width, access time, and burst features of any one of a wide variety of synchronous memories including SDRAMs and SGRAMs, and whether an IC chip, bank, board or module, without requiring hardware modifications or additions to the memory device being identified, and without requiring storage of test patterns or characterizing, data in the memory device.

Abstract: An authentication and information encryption system and method which uses a token system for increased security in accommodating bilateral encrypted communications between an originating system and an answering system, with each system without synchronization independently generating a message digest through use of an encryption key generator which employs bit-shuffling, many-to-few bit mapping, and secure hash processing to forestall attempts to discover the secret inputs to the generator, or the system password, encryption key, or change value outputs extracted from the message digest, through cryptographic analysis or brute force trial-and-error attacks, and with each system using the passwords, encryption key and change value during only a single system connection before using the change value to update one of the secret inputs to the key generator to provide new password, encryption key and change value parameters having no predictable relationship to their previous counterparts, and with each system acc

Abstract: Seismic survey data is stored in encrypted format in a first memory. The first memory module is transferred to a first computer in a first location. A portion of the seismic survey data is selected using a second computer in the first location, wherein the second computer communicates with a second location. A request authorization is transmitted from the second computer to the second location. A decryption code is transmitted from the second location to the second computer. The decryption code is transferred from the second computer to the first computer. The decryption code is applied to the selected portion of seismic survey data in the first computer, making available seismic survey data in decrypted format.

Abstract: An encryption key generator is disclosed which is highly resistant to cryptographic analysis or brute force attacks, and which accommodates the destruction of an encryption key after each use by providing for the recreation of the key without need of key directories or other encryption key storage processes. A constant value and a secret E-Key Seed are applied as inputs to a bit-shuffling algorithm to provide a first many-to-few bit mapping and produce a first pseudo-random number. The first pseudo-random number in turn is applied as an input to a secure one-way hash algorithm to provide a second many-to-few bit mapping and produce a second pseudo-random number or message digest that may be truncated to a desired bit length to serve as a non-predictable but deterministic encryption key. Same constant value and E-Key Seed inputs to the key generator will provide the same message digest and hence the same key.

Abstract: A method for determining ocean bottom reflectivities from dual sensor seismic data, whereby a first time windowed pressure signal and a first windowed velocity signal are summed to generate a first summed signal, and a second time windowed pressure signal and a second time windowed velocity signal are summed to generate a second summed signal. The first summed signal and the second summed signal are transformed from the time domain to the frequency domain to generate a first transformed sum and a second transformed sum, respectively. A value R for said ocean bottom reflectivity is selected and used to calculate an inverse Backus filter (1+Rz).sup.2, where Z is the Z-transform of the two-way travel time delay filter. The first transformed sum and the second transformed sum are multiplied by the inverse Backus filter to generate a first filtered sum and a second filtered sum, respectively. A cross spectrum is calculated from the first filtered sum and the second filtered sum to generate a trial cross spectrum.